Where We Are Now

This past weekend I spent some time hanging
out in Katai's stall with her and cleaned her leather halter

I’ve been writing some blog posts but not posting them because it seems weird to post some pieces of what’s been going on without a full update but by the time I get the full update written the other stuff I wrote is no longer relevant. I do want to post something though because I truly enjoy looking back through the blog and I use it to remind myself of important dates. I’m going to rapid fire some updates but there is a lot more I won’t be able to post. Also, I’m going to try to get back to posting on Instagram more, it’s just been a rough couple of months and the dead of winter in MN is never good for mental health things.

Riding Things:

Last I posted was in July of 2020 and things were going well. I’d been at the “new at the time” barn for a couple of months and was making a ton of progress with riding consistently, riding outside, and gaining back strength after a couple of quiet, less consistent years. Katai was going as well as she ever had thanks to the work I was doing on my own anxiety and the vitamin E that I’d started her on.

Since then, we’ve continued to build strength and through December I was riding super regularly, around 5 times per week on average which is awesome for me. We were schooling second level movements (other than some of the canter stuff) and even had a start on the third level trot work. I was taking remote lessons with Megan from A Enter Spooking around 1-2 times per month and that was SUPER helpful. In December I had two fantastic lessons back to back where we did some half pass and then started picking apart the trot/canter transitions. That work completely broke Katai’s brain but it’s just one of those training things and I suspect we’ll get a similar reaction when we introduce the changes. As of this past week I’ve gotten some truly spectacular trot/canter transitions, they just aren’t that consistent yet but I can tell we’re doing the correct work.

Soundness Things:

I was working through it and we were making progress but at the end of January/early February she started having some body soreness that came out as behavioral stuff in the work. I gave her a bit of time off and got chiro and massage done and switched farriers. This was right around when we had that incredibly long cold front with negative and single digit highs for over 10 days straight though so some of the appointments were delayed and I couldn’t ride for a while. When I went back to it as it warmed up she was off her rocker with energy and, while she was feeling better, she still seemed a little sore. I’d guess that if we’d been able to keep working it would have resolved but all that time spent standing around (even though I was handwalking as often as I could) wasn’t great.

We’ve got her on a four week schedule for massage, I’m treating for ulcers, we’re trying some equipment changes at the suggestion of the body worker (who has a pony mare and rides 4^th level), and her feet are looking better so I’m hopeful that she’ll continue to feel better.

Yep, that barn driveway was glare ice

Mental Health Things:

This definitely took a dip over the early part of the year. Not being able to spend regular time at the barn with Katai and missing out on that physical activity was super difficult especially in the dead of winter. Add to that a significant, horrific, traumatic event that occurred at one of the locations I support for work and I really struggled. I’m feeling a bit better but still pretty flat emotionally which has definitely made getting back to the barn regularly a bit tough. I was out 6 days this past week though and rode four which is awesome and this week should be similar. I’m also super proud of myself that I rode outside on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend. That’s a huge stretch for me since up until this last summer Katai was truly awful to ride outside (I completely take ownership for this but it didn’t make it any easier to deal with) and both days were cool and very windy. We both did well and she really held it together for me.

Upcoming Changes:

I’m moving again. Yep, I know I move a lot and that’s everyone’s first reaction. I’m not going to justify it because I have clear, well thought out reasons but it also sucks. I’ve never wanted to move around this much and would really love to “find my barn” and just stay there forever. In the past, I’ve made some pretty big sacrifices to stay in my budget and distance including less care or missing some amenities I want. With COVID and being reclassified as a remote employee I’m changing it up and trying something new. This time the drive time is what I’m going to sacrifice on. The new barn is about an hour and a half away but since I’m no longer driving for work I’m hoping it will be doable. This has allowed me to find the type of barn I’ve been looking for with the right amenities, care, etc. while still staying within my budget. At some point I’ll have all my debt paid off (being a millennial sucks) and my budget for barns will open up significantly but for now, that’s the most important thing for me to do with my money and thus, my barn budget is much lower than it could be. 

Katai is being moved right on the 1^st of April (no this isn’t an April Fools joke) so that’s coming up quickly and soon you’ll start seeing a different barn in the background in my Instagram pictures. Now I just need to continue with the progress I’ve made over the past year with riding outside and riding regularly.